Family
Ikbale's life in Canada continues to be focused on the care and well-being of her grandchildren. Both grand-daughters have flourished under her watchful eye and gentle heart. When Ikbale first arrived to Canada, the family was having a difficult time in their new country. Ikbale recalled how often her grand-daughters would cry. Ikbale took them out to local parks, to the swimming pool and has provided a grandmother’s constant, loving presence in their lives.
Ikbale and Sezai have taken on the job of teaching the girls about their cultural heritage. When the girls were little, Ikbale recalled she would come to their house everyday, tell them stories about Albania, sing Albanian songs and cook Albanian food for them. She and her husband always speak to the girls in Albanian, keen to teach them the language of their birthplace as there are no schools to teach them and only a small community of local Albanian speakers.
Ikbale continues to love and care for her granddaughters and over the last few years has seen them grow into strong. The eldest granddaughter has developed into a sensitive young girl with a thoughtful approach to life. She has shown artistic talents and started to play the violin. The second and younger granddaughter is the first “Canadian” born in the family. She loves being a “tom-boy” just like Ikbale was. She is loud and active, and loves running, climbing trees and playing outside.
The most difficult part of having moved to Canada for Ikbale has been the loss of daily interaction with her brothers and sisters back in Albania. Ikbale was used to growing up with three brothers and two sisters, surrounded by the activity, excitement and noise of a large family. 
Through her life stages of marriage, raising a family, work and retirement, Ikbale resided in Tirana, living close to her brothers and sisters. Gatherings with family were commonplace, with all of them often meeting for food and drink and celebration at her brother's local restaurant.
"Sometimes, I have heartache for before."
Ikbale has since returned to visit Albania several times over the last seven years. Sadly, in 2008 she had to cancel a trip to Albania because the airline company unexpectedly went out of business. Ikbale continues to stay connected to her family by exchanging emails and photographs over the Internet through her niece who lives in Tirana. But this is a poor substitute for the daily relationships and interactions she was used to. Since coming to Canada in 2001, two of Ikbale’s brothers and one sister have passed away. Ikbale was unable to return to Albania to attend their funerals because of the distance and cost of travel. Ikbale continues to miss her family and hopes to be able to return home to spend more time with her one remaining sister who continues to live in Albania.
In contrast, to her to the excitement of being part of a large family in Albania, Ikbale’s “Canadian” family is small and quiet. She misses the noise and excitement of her Albanian family, but she treasures the time she spends with her smaller family in Canada. Ikbale knows that if she had remained in Albania, she would not have the deep relationships and love with her two granddaughters who have become so precious to her.
